


Learning to Love

by Prplprincez



Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Assault, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, F/M, Fingerfucking, Fluff, Kissing, Nipple Play, Oral Sex, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sex, Sexual Content, Shock, Slow Burn, Trying to expand my writing style so please be patient with me and nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 02:43:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6935638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prplprincez/pseuds/Prplprincez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky rescues a woman in Central Park. In saving her, can he learn to love himself again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know that last call in NY was 4am so I had to change that minor error. I should have checked that before writing. Sorry.
> 
> Photo of Bucky used with permission of SSWF on Instagram

Sophie was walking in Central Park on her way home from work. She knew it wasn’t always safe but it was the quickest way home. She was a waitress at a bar and the while the hours sucked, the tips were great. She heard footsteps behind her and glanced behind her. A group of men were closing up on her and they didn’t look friendly. She began to walk faster, hoping she could just get home. Looking back again, she saw that they were gaining on her. A moment later, she was surrounded by them.

“Where you going pretty lady?”

Don’t you want to hang out with us?”

“Please just let me go.” she begged them, as she tried to get away.

“Aw come on lady, we’re lots of fun.”

“You heard the lady, back off.” Said a deep voice from the shadows.

“Who’s going to stop us? You?” They started laughing.

The next thing she knew the group of men were on the ground groaning and a tall man with a metal arm was asking if she was alright.

 

Bucky couldn’t sleep again. He threw on some clothes and went for a walk. Sometimes just walking helped clear his head of the ghosts for a little while. Usually people left him alone this time of night, either too drunk or high to care who was walking around and he left them alone also. But when he saw the dark haired woman surrounded by punks, he couldn’t just stand by and let them abuse her. After getting rid of those guys, he had to make sure she was fine.

“Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” he asked while quickly looking over her for any injuries.

“No, no you got here in time. You’re him, aren’t you? Captain America’s friend? Thank you so much.” she said.

Not sure how to respond to people outside of the Avengers being nice to him, he just stands there and nods. He was so used to people being scared of him, and here is this woman thanking him, knowing who he is. Suddenly he noticed she was shaking hard, she must be going into shock from what happened.

“Doll, look at me! What’s your name?” he asked her, trying to get her to focus on something other than what was going on in her head.

“Sophie.”

“Sophie, that’s a beautiful name. I’m Bucky. Come with me. I’m going to take you to Stark Tower. OK. You’re going into shock and we need to get you out of Central Park.” he told her, putting his arm around her and walking her towards the Tower. He keeps her talking about silly things, like the trees they pass, the stars until they walk up to the building. He punches in his passcode to enter and he gets her into the elevator. Getting off on his floor, he went straight to his suite and got her settled on his couch.

“Sophie, I’m getting you some water and I’m going to call somebody up here ok.”

He told her quietly. She was still pretty shook up and seemed pretty out of it.  
She just nodded and he called out to FRIDAY to get Banner up to his here check her out.

 

Sophie had no clue why she couldn’t stop shaking. It wasn’t like she hadn’t grown up in the city. She knew people got mugged everyday, but it had never happened to her before. She was 30 years old, independent and didn’t get worked up like this and yet here she was, shaking like a leaf, in Stark Tower, in one of the Avengers suites. She tried to focus on what was around her, but she kept replaying in her head those men coming up and surrounding her. It wouldn’t stop.

She suddenly heard voices around her. She jumped thinking she was going to get hurt. Looking behind her she saw Bucky talking to a man quietly. They began walking towards.

  
“Sophie, this is Dr. Banner. He is going to talk to you for a minute.” Bucky told her softly.

She looked up to him and nodded.

“Hi Sophie, you can call me Bruce. I hear you had quite an experience in the park. I’m just going to ask you a few questions ok.” Dr. Banner said.

“Ok.”

He asked her what the day was, the year, those kind of things. He took her vitals and then went to talk to Bucky.

 

“She’s fine Bucky, just standard shock. She’ll come out of it after a little bit. It’s a good thing you were out walking. It could have been worse for her. See, you are a good guy after all.” Bruce told him.

“Whatever, Banner. I just did what any guy would do seeing a dame in trouble.” he told the scientist.

“Maybe in the ‘40s but not today. Most would just walk by and mind their own business. But you are going to believe whatever you want. Just keep an eye on her for tonight.” With that Bruce told Sophie and Bucky good night and left.

 

“Do you want to lay down or something? Banner thinks you should stay here for the rest of the night and I have an extra room you can use. Or we can watch a movie. Whatever you want.” he told her. He wasn’t sure what to do. It had been 70 years since he was this close to a woman that he wasn’t trying to kill or working with.

“A movie, I guess.” she said.

“FRIDAY can you find a relaxing movie?” he asked and soon “Fantasia” was playing on the flat screen TV. Bucky sat nervously next to her, not sure how to behave. He used to be so sure of himself with girls, he never had a problem picking them up, closing the deal. But now, he was all nervous, his one hand all sweaty. He sat straight, his back like a pole was in it, he couldn’t relax until he heard a soft snore next to him. Looking over, Sophie had fallen asleep.

He took advantage of her sleeping to look her over, taking in her features slowly for the first time. Her hair was a dark brown that reached to just below her shoulders. He reached up and picked up a strand of it, leaning down to smell it. It smelled like vanilla shampoo, all soft and clean. Her eyelashes were dark and long, resting on her olive skin. Her lips were full and slightly open, like she was waiting for a kiss. She was petite, possibly 5”4’ with perky full breasts. Her legs were long for her size and her while she wasn’t thin, she wasn’t heavy either. She was perfect, he thought, too perfect for somebody like him.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He needed to get her into a bed, unfortunately it wasn’t going to be his. He stood up and easily picked her up in his arms. Walking to his spare room, he laid her on the bed and tucked her in. Taking a chance he may never have again, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. As he walked out of the room, he looked back and whispered “Good night, Angel.”

 

Sophie slowly opened her eyes and stretched. She looked around and realized that she wasn’t at her apartment. Then it all came back to her. The park, the group of men, Bucky. She must have fallen asleep at his place. How embarrassing! Not only did Bucky rescue her but now she fell asleep at his place! Ugh! She climbed out of bed and used the adjoining bathroom. Running some water over her face, she looked into the mirror. Not too bad, she thought. Running her fingers through her hair, she figured she better get out there and thank Bucky for his help.

As she walked into the living room, she looked around for him. She hadn’t really noticed much last night, but his place was very nice. He had a little kitchen area that was blue and white with a small dinette off to the side. There was a balcony that ran from the dining area to the living room. The living room was a soft grey color and had some nice paintings on the wall along with some beautiful drawings in frames. She walked over to the French doors and was looking over Central Park when she heard Bucky speak.

“Hey Doll, how did you sleep?”

“Good. You?”

“I don’t sleep so good. Um you want some coffee?” he asked her.

“Yeah, sure.” she answered.

“I can go down to the community kitchen and get you a cup or I have this fancy coffee pot here, but I don’t know how to work it. Steve’s tried to explain it but I just get frustrated and I just want to throw it out the window.” he admitted to her.

She suddenly felt a little bad for him. She had read about how he was used by HYDRA and she guessed they didn’t teach him anything about modern technology except how to kill. She owed him for helping her and well, she thought he was sweet so why not.

“Why don’t you show me this coffee pot and maybe I can help.”

She followed him to the kitchen and he pointed out a Keurig coffee pot. She could see how this might be a little confusing to somebody who was used to a percolator. She asked if he had the pods of coffee and he pulled open a cupboard and grabbed a box. She went about making a cup of coffee for both of them, slowly, so he could just watch her. She knew some people learned better by watching; he had said that Steve had explained it and since that didn’t work, maybe he just needed to see it. She made sure there was enough water left so that he could just pop a pod in for a few days so that he wouldn’t need to mess with it.

“That seems pretty easy. I don’t know why I couldn’t get it.” He said as they sat on the balcony.

“I learn better by watching. I just figured you might too. If you want, I can help you with anything you might have trouble with. I mean, you don’t have to. I just, well, you know, you helped me last night, I can, well, you know, help you with stuff.” she said. God, that came out all messed up. She lowered her head. He’s going to say no. Tell me to go away. He has the Avengers to help him with this. He doesn’t need some waitress to help him out.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, if it’s no trouble for you. I don’t want to be a problem.” he told her.

“No, no, it’s no problem. I offered remember.” She said, smiling.

“You sure did.” He replied, smiling for the first time since she saw him.

 

Bucky couldn’t believe it, grinning. She wanted to come back and help him. Him, the assassin for HYDRA. He looked into her eyes, and he couldn’t see anything but sincerity. Those green eyes looking at him with open honesty, like Steve. He felt something, maybe just maybe, he might be able to get close to a dame again.  
They talked some more and then Sophie said she needed to get home. She had to get ready for work.

“I’m going to walk you home and then walk you to work, ok Doll.” he told her.

“Bucky, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.” she told him.

“I insist. You’re a sweet girl, and I’m going to keep an eye on you. No arguments.” he said firmly.

“Alright, fine.” she said, standing up.

They walked the few blocks to her apartment and every step of the way, he had to fight the urge to grab her hand and hold it. When they got to her place, he sat on her couch while she took a shower and he looked around. It was a small place, especially compared to his. You could tell a dame lived here. There were pinks and purples everywhere. She had flowers and stuffed animals on her furniture and on the walls. He felt comfortable here, it was homey. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a minute.

“Bucky, Bucky. Wake up.”

“Yeah Doll, I’m up.” He opened his eyes to see Sophie standing here and it took a lot to keep his jaw from dropping. She had on a pair of black skinny jeans and a red lacy tank top that showed off her curves just right. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she had done her make up. He bit his lower lip and stood up.

“Ready?” he asked her.

“Yup, let’s go.” she said heading for the door.

This time, he walked her to work with his hand on her lower back. He waited to see if she would say or do anything, but nothing. He smirked a little, feeling like he was getting away with something. When they arrived to the bar she worked at, he realized that it was around the corner from the Tower. Somehow that made him feel better, knowing she was close to him in case anything happened.

“Well, here we are. Thanks for walking me Bucky. I appreciate it.” She told him, looking up into his eyes.

“When do you get off Doll?”

“My shift ends at 1am."

“I’ll be here at 12:30. No arguments.” he told her. He looked down at her and thought why not. He placed his hands on her checks, one metal, one flesh. When she didn’t move, he slid his hand of flesh behind her neck and leaned down and kissed her. His tongue traced over her lips until she opened for him and he slid his tongue in briefly before pulling back. He leaned his forehead on hers on a moment, with his eyes closed.

Pulling himself together, he stood up straight, winked at her and said “I’ll finish this later. Have a good night Doll. See you at 12:30.” and walked out the door.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky picks up Sophie after work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo of Bucky used with permission of SSWF on Instagram

The Bar East was extremely busy tonight and Sophie barely had a minute to catch her breath. The Yankees were playing and the bar was full and rowdy. When they won the game, it got even crazier. She was so glad when after an hour or so, the sports fans finally trickled out. While she made great tips on game nights, it also meant that the closing duties she tried to get a head start on never got done until later. In her hurry to get her duties done she hadn’t noticed when Bucky walked in. 

“Hey Sophie, some guy is asking for you. He looks familiar, but I don’t think I’ve seen him in here. What do you want me to do?” one of the other waitresses asked her.

“Let me look.” Sophie said, as she walked to the door between the kitchen and the barroom. As she looked through the window in the door she sees Bucky sitting at the bar, in a long sleeved shirt and gloves. “I forget he was coming in. I’ll be right out.” she told Heather.

Wiping her hands on her apron, she opens the door and walks over to Bucky.

“Hey soldier, can I get you a drink?” she asks him, with a smile in her voice and a wink.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he snapped.

“Hey Bucky calm down. I didn’t mean anything really. I was just being silly. I’m sorry.” she rushed out.

“No, no, I’m sorry Doll. I overreacted.” He told her. “Really, yeah, um can I have a Guinness bottled?”

“Sure Hun, no problem.” she replied and went to get him his beer.

 

Bucky couldn’t believe he snapped at her. He knew she was joking with him, like Steve does. She probably did that with all of her customers. He just associated the term ‘soldier’ with ‘assassin’ and what he had done for HYDRA and he hated himself for that. It wasn’t Sophie’s fault and he felt really bad. He knew he wasn’t good for anybody. Damn it. He would just walk her home and then leave her alone.

“Bucky, hey, here’s your beer. I’m almost finished here. Do you want to get something to eat when I’m finished?” Sophie asked.

He looked up to see her smiling at him. She wanted to spend time with him even after he snapped at her.

“Sure Ok.” He told her.

He sat drinking his beer, watching her finish up. He knew the beer wouldn’t affect him, the serum took care of that. It just seemed strange sitting in a bar not drinking something and he liked the taste of it. By the time he finished his beer, Sophie was done. As he watched her walk towards him, he licked his lips. Damn, she was something to look at.

“Ready?” she asked.

He stood up, put his arm protectively around her back and they walked out the door.

 

Sophie liked the feeling of Bucky’s hand on her back. They didn’t talk, just walked enjoying the cool night. Soon it was going to be summer, sticky and hot. She was enjoying the night, not really paying attention, when Bucky suddenly stopped. Looking up she saw that they were at Stark Tower.

Bucky must have noticed the look on her face because he started talking.

“You asked if I wanted to get something to eat Well, Stark has a whole floor for just food. And it’s safe in here, Doll.”

“Alright lets do it then.” she said.

After punching in his code, he held the door for her and she walked in. She really didn’t get a chance to look around last night so she did now. The lobby was very classy. Their was a uniformed guard sitting at a desk who just waved at Bucky. Mr. Stark had beautiful paintings on the walls and nice flowering plants all over. She wondered if that was Ms. Potts influence. She had heard he was more interested in tinkering with things and left Ms. Potts make most interior design decisions. If that was true, she had done a wonderful job. Bucky led her to the elevators and when they got in, he surprised her again.

“FRIDAY, to the cafeteria please.”

“OMG it is true!” she gasped out.

“Who do you think I was talking to earlier today?” he asked her.

“I wasn’t even paying attention when we left. I was still so surprised to actually be here and after everything that had happened I just didn’t even notice. I’m really usually not that dense.” She answered laughing and covering her face with her hands.

Bucky pulled her closer to him and carefully pulled her hands from her face. She looked up at him and bit her lip. She was so embarrassed. He must think she is so stupid.

“When Steve first brought me here, I thought FRIDAY was a real person, actually spying on me. I spent days crawling through the vents looking for her. Scared the shit out of Clint when I snuck up on him one time in one of his hiding spots in there. Tony, Steve and Tasha finally had to show me the actual program to get me to relax, not that I knew what a program was at the time, but if Steve trusted it, I knew I could. Don’t be embarrassed, Doll, not in front of me. There is so much I don’t know anymore.”

Just as he was leaning down, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Sophie knew he was going to kiss her and the moment was now gone.

They walked out of the elevator and she took a look around as Bucky started to explain what was there. It seemed that the whole floor was just food. There was a cafeteria style place to eat and there was a 5 star restaurant. Also a coffee shop type place, although Bucky said that one of the lab assistants had introduced him to Starbucks and he was hooked. Tony made all of restaurants available to the public from 6 am until 11 pm but to the people who lived and worked in the tower, they were open 24 hours a day. Their hours were so erratic that it was nice to be able to eat real food when ever they wanted.

They decided to get something from the cafeteria and take it back to Bucky’s apartment. They sat down on his couch and dug into their hamburgers. In between bites, Bucky asked her about her family and how she liked living in the city. She told him that her parents lived on Long Island, in Deer Park and she had a younger sister. She liked living in the city, but it was very expensive. Fortunately, she made pretty good money at the bar to pay for her shoebox apartment.

She was startled when he reached over and pulled her legs into his lap and took her shoes off. Looking at her, silently asking permission, his hands running up and down her feet, she just nodded. He began to rub her feet, which hurt every night when she got off of work. Sophie couldn’t help the groan that came out of her mouth, it felt so good.

“Oh Bucky, that feels so good. Your hands, wow!” she said. She knew the one had to be stronger than the other, but she had heard he also had something like super strength like Captain America. Yet he was being so gentle with her.

“I am not, this isn’t too rough or hard?” he asked her.

“Oh no! It’s perfect. My feet hurt so much after running around all night. Thank you so much.”

He then told her about a nurse that he had taken out once and she had said something about sore feet from being on them all day.

Sophie sat up and reached for him then. As he came closer to her, she threaded her fingers through his dark brown hair. “Thank you” she whispered to him right before she kissed him. She felt his tongue trace her lips before she opened them, letting him in. Their tongues danced with each other until Bucky’s gained control of the kiss. He placed one hand on her face, his thumb softly caressing her skin, while the other was fisted in her hair, holding her head in place. He slid his lips from her's to her neck, softly biting and sucking her skin.

He picked her up and sat her on his lap, her legs on either side of him so that she wasn’t bent almost in half. He went right back to kissing and sucking on her neck. Sophie couldn’t keep her hands out of his hair as she planted kisses on him everywhere she could reach. She could feel how hard he was and she wondered if he was going to try something.

But all they did was kiss. Finally, Bucky pulled her away from him. She could see the arousal in his eyes.

“Doll, I could kiss you all day and night. But we should probably get some sleep. Come with me.” He stood her up and took her hand.

She followed him into his bedroom and he stopped in front of a dresser. Pulling open a drawer, he grabbed a shirt and handed it to her. He opened another one and grabbed some shorts and gave those to her also.

“These should fit you. If you want a shower, my bathroom is yours. You can change in there also. Take your time. I’ll be right back.” and he walked out.  
Sophie looked at the large bed, took a deep breath and went into the bathroom.

 

Bucky stood in his living room and ran his hand through his hair. What the fuck was he doing? He was sure she would have fucked him but he just couldn’t. He was a fucking killer. He wasn’t any good for her. She was too sweet. He heard the shower turn on and decided he should talk to Stevie.

“FRIDAY, where is Steve?”

“Mr. Barnes, Captain Rogers is drawing in his suite.”

Bucky picked up his phone and called Steve.

“Hey Buck, what’s up?” Steve answered.

“You know that dame I told you about today? Well she is here and um, I’m such an idiot.” He told Steve.

“Ok Buck, calm down. What happened?”

Bucky told him about the foot massage and the kissing and then how he just stopped. He didn’t take it any further and isn’t that what women of the 21st Century want it, to have sex right away, and he is no good at this anymore, and she wouldn’t want him anyhow.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down there. Where did you get this idea that, never mind. Bucky, did she seem disappointed you didn’t have sex?”

“No.”

“Alright. Not every woman wants to have sex right away. We’ll talk about that later. Where is she now?” Steve asked.

“Taking a shower.” Bucky told him.

“In your shower!?” Steve asked surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god, Bucky. OK.” Bucky knew Steve was shaking his head, he could just tell by his tone of voice. “She must like you enough to take a shower in your apartment and make out with you. It will be fine. What else do you plan on doing tonight?”

“Just sleeping.”

“Go in there, get ready for bed and go to sleep. Buck, I think she likes you. And plus, what’s not to like. Call me later Jerk.”

“OK Punk.”

Bucky walked back into his bedroom. He figured Steve was right. Sophie had no problems kissing him and didn’t make a big deal about sleeping here obviously in his room. Just then the bathroom door opened and out came Sophie in his clothes. His heart clutched. His shirt swam on her but something about her wearing ‘his’ things did something to him.

“Um, I’m going to go change” he told her, grabbing some sweatpants.

 

Sophie wondered if Bucky was ok. He practically ran into the bathroom after she came out. She knew he was still getting used to life again. She hoped she hadn’t done something wrong. She would hate to set him back any. Although they had just met, she really liked him. The fact that he was such a gentleman made such a big impression on her. She supposed it was because he was from a more proper era, but it did things to do. Men really didn’t do things like that anymore. That Bucky did those things made her feel special. And that he didn’t push her to ‘put out’ made her feel even better. It was so nice to spend time with a man and kiss him and it be able to stop at that. Not that she wouldn’t like to have sex with him, but she felt like she could take her time.

The bathroom door opened and she looked over to see Bucky in just a pair of sweatpants. She had to try very hard to keep her mouth from dropping open. He was muscle everywhere. She could see where his bionic arm is attached to the rest of him and the scars of war on him. Still, he is a fine specimen of a man. She pulled the sheets back for him, letting him know without words, that she wants to be here with him.

When he gets into the bed with her, she leans over and gently kisses him on the long scar between his arm and the rest of him. She then kisses him softly on his lips and whispers goodnight and lays down.

 

Bucky can’t believe she did that. Just up and kissed his ugly scar. She didn’t look away or seemed disgusted by it or his arm at all. Maybe this will be alright after all. As he laid down, he pulled Sophie close. It had been too long since a beautiful dame was sleeping in his arms. And now that she was here, he hoped that she would want to stay. He listened to her breath for awhile as she slept, then kissed her hair softly.

“Good night my sweet Angel.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky gets called out onto a mission with the Avengers and Sophie spends the day with Steve's girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update RL happened and it was stressful.  
> I'm trying to work on some character development and my writing style so please be patient with me.  
> Also this is unlike my normal happy sexy times story. I deal with Bucky's PTSD and self esteem in this story and while happy and sexy times will happen, I try to make my stories as realistic as possible. PTSD is very serious and effects more people than just soldiers and veterans. If you have had a traumatic incident and not talked to somebody, please do.  
> The town in this chapter is very real. The only change I made is they do not have a road in and out of town. They are like "Ice Road Truckers".  
> The photo of Bucky is used with permission of SebStan Winter Fan on Instagram. Please check out her IG. I love her edits and she is responsible for the different pictures of Bucky I will use in my pictures in this story. She deserves all the love for her great work. And none of her edits were made for me. These are all ones already made but I fell in love with.

 

"Mr. Barnes, Director Fury needs you in the conference room,” FRIDAY announced.

Damn, thought Bucky as he came awake. He was hoping to spend more time with Sophie today, but it wasn’t looking like that was going to happen. He threw on some jeans and a t-shirt. He never went to these briefings in his gear because he never knew if he would be going with them on the mission, staying home or if it was just a ‘we are keeping an eye on this situation but be ready to go soon' meeting and he wanted to be comfortable. He walked to the bed and quickly kissed Sophie softly before leaving to meet with the others.

  
Walking into the room, the first thing he did was head straight for the coffee. If he was going to have to take in a lot of detailed information, he needed a lot of caffeine. Sitting down next to Steve he gave him a ‘don’t even start' look and took a sip of his coffee. The rest of the team was there, Clint and Natasha were huddled close whispering to each other. Bruce and Tony talking about something they were working on. Sam had his head on his arms trying to get a few more minutes of sleep, Wanda leaning on Vision, slowly waking up. Thor was the only one missing, having business in Asgard. Everyone looked up when Nick began to speak.

  
“HYDRA has a small base in Northern Ontario. It’s a distribution center for weapons. All of you will be going on this mission. “ Nick continued with the more specific information that they would need. Finally he wrapped up.  
“We leave in 30 minutes. You know what to do.”

  
Everybody got up from the conference table and went their separate ways. Bucky hurried to his floor to change. He dressed quickly in his tactical suit, sliding his knives and guns into place, moving quietly so as not to wake Sophie. She looked so peaceful laying there sleeping. He liked her enough already that he hoped he would one day be worthy of her.

  
He left her a note telling her he had to work and that he hoped she would wait for him at the tower. He also told he that he had asked Steve’s girlfriend to come and check on her. He then kissed her softly and walked out the door to meet up with the others on the Quinjet that was taking then to Ontario.

 

Sophie rolled over to an empty bed. She looked around for Bucky but didn’t see him. Wondering if he was in the living room, she got up and went to look for him. As she softly walked into the kitchen, she noticed a note on the counter. She quickly read it. She was sad he had to leave but that was what his job entailed.

  
As she fixed herself some coffee she thought about what he had asked her. She really didn’t have anything to do today so staying there wasn’t a problem. And since she really liked Bucky and wanted to get to know him better, that probably would include spending time with his best friend, so getting to know Steve Rogers' girlfriend couldn’t hurt any.

  
“Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Lewis is here to see you.” FRIDAY announced.

  
And it looked like Steve’s girlfriend was here. She was a little nervous. She knew that Darcy had worked with Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend, but that was about it. She took a deep breath and went to let her in.

 

Bucky sat on the Quinjet waiting to get to their destination. He was trying to get into the right frame of mind to deal with HYDRA. But he kept seeing Sophie laying there in his bed. He had had his fair share of women over the years. Before the war and during, he never had a problem getting a date and the ones that were a little wilder never went home unsatisfied. And after his fall, he occasionally was out of cyro long enough that his handlers would bring him a dame to fuck. But Sophie was worth so much more than a quick fuck. She already was working her way into his tough shell.

  
He was glad that Steve was able to get his friends to give him a chance to prove himself. He had so much he had to make up for, all those horrible things he did. Working with the Avengers might make up for it.

  
He double checked his weapons, making sure his guns were loaded and the magazines were also. He saw Steve watching him and he gave him a small smile. They all had their little routines they had before a mission. He felt Steve sit down beside him.

  
“How’s it go last night?” Steve asked.

  
“M'k. She kissed my scar, Steve. Blew my mind. Just reached over and planted her sweet lips on it,” he whispered.

  
“Hmmm. Looks like you were worried for nuthin, Jerk.”

  
“Shut up Punk.” He thought for a moment and then said “I wonder how her and Darcy are getting along.”

  
“I hope they have a less stressful day than we do,” Steve said as they arrived at their destination.

  
Moosonee was a small town with about 2000 people. It was close to the James Bay and therefore was perfect for shipping people and weapons in and out by water. There was one road in and out and a small airport. They didn’t land there but a little closer to the HYDRA base.

  
Steve gave last minute instructions to everybody and they headed out. Bucky's last thought before putting on his game face was how he needed to be safe this time, to see his angel when this mission was over. After that he was all soldier.

 

Darcy was nothing like she expected. She was expecting someone who was classy and superhero-like. Instead she found that Darcy was sarcastic and no where near anything like one of the Avengers that lived here. She liked her immediately.

  
“Finally Barnes has a woman in here. I was starting to wonder if all that freezing they did to him froze his balls off,” Darcy said as she walked in.

  
Sophie tried to keep her jaw from dropping but she wasn’t successful. She couldn’t even think of anything to say.

  
“Well, I know he hasn’t had a girl up here since he moved in and I know he was quite the ladies man before.” Darcy said sarcastically. Then her tone changed, “Seriously, Steve and I were getting concerned about him. He just seemed so down. But when he told Steve about you, this light in his eye I had never seen before was there. Because you gave that to him, which made my man happy, I am here for you. Whatever you need.”

  
That took Sophie back for a minute. She knew she felt something for Bucky, she just wasn’t sure he had felt the same thing. Now she knew. He felt the same pull as she did.

  
“I like him, what little I know of him. He just seems so lost, with himself, with the world we live in. I don’t know how to help him,” she told Darcy.

  
“Tell me about it,” Darcy said. “When I first met Steve it was after the battle of New York. Thor had gone back to Asgard to deal with his brother but they needed Jane here. So as her intern, I followed. While Tony rebuilt The Tower, Jane worked with Dr. Banner and Erik. Of course, Tony has all these people working for him so I wasn’t needed as much, because I was only a political science major and Tony’s people, well they knew what they were talking about. So Steve was trying to figure out what had happened over the past 70 years and I was doing a bunch of nothing, so he asked for help. I helped him with the internet and how to work his phone. Jane with all her smarts can’t even change her ringtone, but my man can. Anyhow, we just got to talking and as I helped him with modern technology we got close. One thing led to another and here we are.

  
The hardest thing was Bucky. He missed him horrible. He would have nightmares about Bucky falling from the train. Those were rough nights. Then when the whole SHIELD/HYDRA thing happened, he was miserable. Seeing Bucky but him not really being Bucky was horrible for him. It nearly killed him when he woke up in the hospital and he didn’t know where Bucky was. The guilt hit him twice as hard. First for not saving him when he fell and then having found him and then losing him again. So when Bucky walked into the tower and asked for him it really made everything worthwhile.

  
My advice to you, be patient. He lost a lot. He was used in a horrible way for many years. Even if nothing happens beyond friends with you two, he needs that too. Bucky is very hard on himself and he was forced to do things he had no say in. Be there for him, that’s all.

  
Now no more serious stuff. Let’s get out of here and do some damage somewhere. FRIDAY will let us know when they are on the way back.”

  
They went for coffee and did some shopping. Sophie didn’t have a lot to spend but had a good time anyhow. They stopped by her apartment to pick up some clothes for her, she couldn’t wear the same clothes everyday. And since Bucky asked her to be at his place when he got back, she needed clean clothes. Darcy had told her that missions could last from a day to several weeks but from what Bucky had told Sophie and Steve had told her, it didn’t sound like it was going to be much longer than a day. She grabbed a couple of pairs of jeans and a few different tops. She actually liked staying at Bucky’s place. It was closer to her job and she felt much safer there. After the incident in the park, she wanted to feel as safe as possible. After leaving her apartment they picked up pizza and settled into the community room and watched movies. But the later it got the more she got worried. Darcy reached over and squeezed her hand in understanding.

  
“I wish I could say it gets easier but it doesn’t,” Darcy started, “but remember this, our boys are super soldiers and they heal rather quickly. And it’s very hard to take them down. That always helps me.”

  
Sophie nodded and wondered if she was cut out for this.

 

The group on the Quinjet was pretty battered. There were cuts, bumps, and bruises forming on everybody. Clint had missed getting shot by several inches, Tony's current Iron-man suit needed repairs, Bruce was wrapped in a blanket, having lost his clothes when he Hulked out and he wasn’t just ready to put on the spare ones that were onboard. Steve and Bucky each had knife wounds. Natasha, Wanda, Sam and Vision were busy trying to patch everybody up until they got back to Stark Tower and Dr. Cho could treat them properly.

  
They had shut the base down and fortunately no civilians were hurt. Those that worked for HYDRA had no intention of giving up or even being taken alive. They either fought to the death or when it looked like they were going to be captured, they killed themselves.

  
Bucky thought it was a waste of life. How many had been brainwashed into that kind of thinking? Now all he wanted to do was get stitched up, into a hot shower and pull his angel into his arms and hold her.

 

“Ms. Lewis, Ms. Fletcher. The team will be landing in 5 minutes. Dr. Cho has been alerted and the medical team is ready to assist in assessing all injuries. “

  
“Thanks FRIDAY” they both replied.

  
“Come on, I’ll take you to the medical floor,” Darcy said as she grabbed Sophie’s hand.

  
Moments later, they were standing outside of Dr. Cho's work area. Dr. Cho was very strict about having non-medical personnel in her area until whomever was injured was in a bed. This was so she knew who needed what when and didn’t waste her precious time on somebody who wasn’t even injured.

  
They y heard the Quinjet land and soon the elevator opened up. Steve and Bucky limped off first, laughing about something. Sophie gasped. Bucky had cuts and scrapes all over his face and he was holding his right hand over his side. He had a gash in his left leg where he had been cut. She started to cry. Bucky noticed her then and limped over to her.

  
“Doll, don’t cry. Hey, hey look at me. Sophie.” He said softly as he put his arm around her.

  
She looked up to him. He looked so battered.

  
“Doll, I’ll be fine in no time. Helen will have me all sewed up in a few minutes and it'll be fine. I promise. ‘K?”

  
She just nodded. She had no clue had Darcy and Ms. Potts did this as she saw Steve hug and kiss Darcy out of the corner of her eye.

  
“Come on with me. You can hold my hand while they stitch me up,” he told her with a wink.

  
He took her hand as he limped to the closest bed and he climbed up. One of the nurses looked him over while another brought over the medical cart. Dr. Cho was right behind them. She looked over Bucky’s injuries and told the two nurses what needed to be done before she came back to stitch up his leg. She then left to do the stitches on Steve’s wound.

  
Sophie stood back some as the nurses cleaned him up. It didn’t take long before he was reaching for her to come sit next to him.

  
“You have to hold my hand when she does my stitches. It will make it hurt less,” he told her.

  
“You’re kidding right? You who just did god knows what with Captain America and Iron-Man are afraid of some stitches?” she asked in disbelief.

  
Bucky looked at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen and stuck his bottom lip out and nodded.

  
“Oh my god,” she said laughing. “Yes, I will hold your hand.”

  
When Dr. Cho came over to stitch his leg, not only did Sophie hold his flesh hand, but she held his metal one too. She knew he was being silly to lighten her mood and that he could take the pain of the stitches. So she knew also he wouldn’t hurt her accidently by squeezing too hard.

  
Dr. Cho released him to his floor after his stitches were finished. They walked into his apartment and Bucky knew he didn’t want Sophie to go home. Not for a very long time, if ever. It felt good seeing her waiting there with Darcy. He felt bad that she had cried, he didn’t want to make her cry ever. He wanted to make her smile, always.

  
“Come on Doll. I need a shower and sleep. Will you sleep in my bed again? I promise I'll be a gentleman.”

  
“Yes, I’ll stay.”

  
His heart leaped that those words. Maybe just maybe something good was finally going to happen. Could she be the one, the one that was finally going to defrost his frozen heart?

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Sophie both want to take their relationship to the next level but they don't know how to tell each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo of Bucky used with permission of SSWF on Instagram

In the month since she had met Bucky, Sophie had stayed with him every night. They had settled into a nice routine. On the nights after she had worked, she would wake to a note on his pillow. He would be down on the training floor with Steve and the others but always let her know where he was and that he was just a phone call away. She spent her days with Darcy and then Bucky when he was finished training. She was slowly helping him catch up on what he had missed over the last 70 years but they weren’t rushing it. Bucky always walked her to work and then picked her up. The girls at work got used to seeing him there and teased her horribly about her “grumpy gentleman”. He treated them all like ladies, which was very different than most of them were used to but he always saved his smiles for her.

  
On her days off, she woke up in his arms and spent the day watching him and the others train. Darcy would sometimes come down and sit with her and they would giggle like teenagers as they watch their men spar with each other.

  
She hadn’t spent a night in her apartment since she met him and only went back to get things she needed. Tony kept after her to move in after she had helped him with a few problems he had with the restaurants. She had worked in the food service industry since she was 16 and knew her way around different positions. Tony had told her that keeping her here with her own suite and a job would keep Bucky happy and having somebody to handle some of the more tedious aspects of the restaurants that he could trust would make him happy. She wasn’t sure about any of that yet, especially since it had only been a month and all her and Bucky had done was kiss.

 

Which was what had her at Steve and Darcy's right now. She wanted more and she hoped Darcy could help. They were sitting on the couch, coffees in hand and Darcy knew something was on her mind.

  
“Soph, spit it out. You look like you have to go get a tooth pulled or something. It can’t be all that bad. Or do you have to get a tooth pulled?” Darcy asked.

  
“No, I don’t have to get a tooth pulled. God this is so embarrassing. So, you know I really like Bucky, right?” Darcy nodded as she continued. “Well all we do is cuddle a lot and kiss, which is fine, but I want more, you know. I just don’t know how to tell him. He is such a gentleman with me and I don’t know if I say something, will it offend him? I mean, he grew up in a totally different time. Women just didn’t tell guys ‘Hey, let’s fuck,’ so I’m not sure what to do.”

  
“Wow,” Darcy started. “ I know what you mean. Steve was so polite when we first stated dating. Kissing me on the check, could barely get him to come in my apartment, I thought I was going to have to attack him to get any action.”

  
“What did you do?”

  
“After one date, when he was saying goodnight, as he went to kiss my check, again, I grabbed his face and kissed him. Really kissed him. It’s a good thing Stark has these rooms soundproofed and I figured out how to turn his AIs off in my apartment, cause it got pretty wild in my place that night. We’ve spent every night together since. Steve wasn’t sure how to act on a date anymore and was too embarrassed to ask anybody. The one person he would have asked was Bucky and he hadn’t meet Sam yet. So I had to make the first move. Hopefully Bucky will ask Steve otherwise you need to do it.”

  
Sophie thought for a minute and then she asked “But won’t he be shocked by me being so forward?”

  
Darcy started laughing and Sophie looked even more upset. Darcy tried to stop as she pulled her into a hug.

  
“Oh girl, nobody told you, did they?” Darcy said. “Girl, Bucky was quite the ladies man back in the day. Steve would make all sorts of excuses to leave their apartment when Bucky would bring a girl home. I really don’t think he would mind."

  
Sophie started to laugh then, realizing that she was worried about nothing. It wasn’t like he was a virgin, and she didn’t think that it was her. He obviously cared about her because of how he acted around her. She decided she just needed to let him know what she wanted.

 

Steve and Bucky had just finished sparring and were sitting down taking a break. They never had a winner when they fought each other but since they always beat the others it was better to train their hardest against each other. Looking around Steve noticed the girls weren’t there today, which was unusual.

  
“Hey Buck, why isn’t Sophie here? Isn’t today her day off?”

  
“Yeah it is. She said she wanted to talk to Darcy about girl stuff. Which could mean trouble for us, ya know,” he answered laughing.

  
“Very true,” Steve said. “So how are things going with you two? You never really say.”

  
“I like her Stevie, a lot. I don’t deserve her. She is so patient and sweet and kind. I miss her when she’s at work, I miss her when I’m here and she’s not. I just don’t want to screw this up.”

  
He knew he sounded panicked but he didn’t want to do anything wrong with this relationship. He had so few good things in his life anymore. He couldn’t remember much of the time before Zola, the Soviets, HYDRA and he needed something that he was worthy of.

  
“Buck, hey relax. You’re not gonna screw this up. She’s been here for what, a month now? She knows what you do, she knows your past and she doesn’t seem to care. So take a deep breath and breathe.”

  
Bucky nodded and did what Steve said. He just sat there for a few minutes and concentrated on breathing. Then he worked up his courage to ask him what was really on his mind.

  
“We haven’t done anything yet. I want to, God knows I want to. But I keep thinking how can I touch her with these hands? I've killed with them,” he said, holding both hands out in front of him.

  
“Buck look at me. You were a soldier before Zola, a damn fine one. One of the best snipers we had. You killed before he got a hold of you and it never once stopped you from keeping the dames happy. I can’t even remember how many times we had to fight off an angry boyfriend or husband when they would show up after you had come around their women,” Steve chuckled. “Just because you were forced to do something you had no control over doesn’t make you a bad person. Sophie sees that. Give her a chance to make her own decisions about you. She might surprise you.”

  
Bucky thought for a minute about what Steve had said. He didn’t exactly remember all of that but Steve hadn’t lied to him yet so it must all be true. He decided then he was going to make his move, soon, tonight, today. No more waiting. She was his and it was time to show her.

  
He stood up and headed for the door.

  
“Where are you going? We aren’t done yet,” Steve yelled after him.

  
“We are now, Punk. I have things to do,” Bucky yelled as he walked out the door.

 

Bucky had taken a shower and straighten up his apartment. He had disconnected FRIDAY’S video capabilities because he didn’t need Stark watching him try and get his Angel into bed and then harass him about it later. He had ordered something for them to eat from downstairs and it was in the oven keeping warm. Now all he had to do was get Sophie here. Just as he was about to text her, she opened the door.

  
“Mmmm it smells good in here. Did you cook honey?” Sophie asked teasing him as she walked over to kiss him.

  
“No, ordered in,” he answered.

  
He wrapped his arms around her as she pressed her body as close as she could to him. She started kissing him again, sliding her tongue into his mouth. It wasn’t a slow lazy kiss either. She was kissing him like she was dying of thrust and he was water. He suddenly fisted her hair with his flesh hand and pulled her head back.

  
“Do you have any idea what you do to me Doll?” he asked her. Without even waiting for an answer, he took her hand in his metal hand, being extra careful considering how close he was to losing control, and placed it on his rock hard cock. “This, this is what you do to me. I want you so bad and unless you tell me you don’t want this, I'm going to make you mine completely. Do you understand me?”

  
“Finally” is all she said.

  
When she said that, Bucky picked her up and carried her to his room, dinner completely forgotten about.

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Sophie finally make love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo of Bucky used with permission of SSWF on Instagram

Bucky carried Sophie into his bedroom and laid her softly onto the bed. While he wanted to just rip her clothes off and ravage her, he also knew that she deserved more than that. He needed to show her with his body how much she meant to him. Leaning down he kissed her lips softly, tracing them with his tongue. His hands sliding up into her hair as she opened her mouth to let him in. Even though they had kissed many times before, this time it was different, sweeter somehow.

  
He slowly worked his way down to her neck, kissing and nibbling her soft skin. When he got to her pulse point, he bit into her, sucking a bruise into her skin. Working in a bar like she did, plenty of guys hit on her. He wanted it known that she was taken, that she was his. While he worked his mouth on that spot, her hips moved against him, looking for friction. “Oh god Bucky” he heard her cry out. Lifting his head to examine his work, he saw the bruise already forming. Smirking to himself, he proceeded to kiss down her collarbone.

  
As he lifted her shirt up, his fingertips lightly skimmed over her stomach and breasts. He could feel the goosebumps on her skin. He quit kissing her just long enough to get her shirt off and then resumed kissing his way down her body. As his mouth went one way, his fingers went the other. Starting from the hem of her jeans, he touched her everywhere, oh so tenderly, like she was the most precious thing his hands had ever touched.

 

Sophie was overwhelmed by feelings. The way he was touching her had her heart pounding and her pussy dripping. He started to lower the straps on her bra and she sat up and unhooked it for him. When she laid back down, his hands covered her breasts completely. The feeling of his hands on her breasts was so different, one warm and one cold. The contrast was like fire and ice and she felt it right down to her center. She can’t help the moan that leaves her mouth.

  
“Sensitive baby doll?” she hears him ask.

  
“Oh hell yes,” she says.

  
He leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. Sophie couldn’t stop her eyes from rolling back in her head. His fingers delicately played with the other one as his tongue circled her nipple before finally latching on and sucking it. While his tongue and mouth played with her nipple, his fingers pull and twist the other one. After what seems like forever, he switches sides. Sophie by now has one hand in his hair and the other in hers, pulling. She wonders if anybody has gone insane from foreplay before.

  
“Bucky, god damn it, please,” she begs. If she doesn’t get some relief her soon, she is going to start screaming, crying or both.

  
He looks up at her with innocent, puppy eyes. “Would you like me to take your jeans off?”

  
“YES!”

 

Smiling at her, he leans up, kisses her and opens the button on her jeans. He tries to not rip the zipper out of them, he wants her so bad. He is worrying his bottom lip, trying to maintain his composure, but its very hard. Part of him just wants to say “Fuck it” and rip all their clothes off, part of him has this desire to have her begging for him on her knees at his feet and part of him just wants to make sweet love to her. For now, he goes with the last one. He can examine the other ones later.

  
Getting her jeans and panties off, he runs his hands up her legs. When he reaches her center, he spreads her legs wide and gets himself comfortable. He plans on staying right here for awhile. He runs his forefinger through her folds, exploring her. When he finds her clit, he gives it a small kiss and then flicks it with his tongue. Hearing her moan, he does it again and slides his finger to her entrance. Circling her entrance as he tongues her clit, he feels how wet she is for him. He slips two fingers into her and, damn, she is soaked for him.

  
Bucky takes his time playing with her clit, using his tongue for a bit then stopping to look at her while teasing her with his fingers dragging over it. Her eyes are half closed, her teeth biting her lower lip, while her head is twisting on the pillow. She moaning and trying to move but had his left arm over her hips, holding her still. “Doll, you taste so sweet, just like I knew you would,” he tells her.

  
“Oh fuck Bucky, I can’t take it. Please.”

  
He just dips his head back down and drags his tongue over her clit once again. His fingers sliding in and out of her pussy, slow at first and then both his tongue and fingers, working in unison, faster and faster until she cums screaming his name. He crawls up her body and holds her until her breathing returns to normal, kissing her softly.

  
“Ready for more?” he asks.

  
“Oh yeah,” she replies, reaching over to pull on his shirt.

  
Bucky sits up and helps her take his shirt off. It never ceases to amaze him how she is never bothered by his scars. Never once has she looked upon them with anything but tenderness. Sophie gives him a nudge and he lays back on the bed. Crawling over him, she sits on his thighs. “My turn” is all she says right before she leans down and starts to kiss her way down his body.

 

Sophie loves Bucky's body. She knows he is embarrassed about his arm and scars but they don’t bother her. She leans down and kisses the long scar at his shoulder and pectoral. As she kisses his scar, she runs her hand down his arm, even though she knows he can’t really feel it. Its part of him and that’s all that matters to her. She hears him snicker and just ignores him. She works her way over the rest of his chest, finding his nipples. “Payback, baby” she murmurs, teasing one with her short nail, the other with her tongue. Feeling how hard he is, she starts to grind herself down on him.  
Suddenly she’s on her back, Bucky looking into her eyes. His breathing is heavy, his eyes flushed with arousal. He's yanking his jeans off and she just lays there watching. He crawls over her and swallows before asking her “Are you sure you want this?”

 

He had to make sure. This may be a different time than he was used to, but he knew that once upon a time he was a gentleman.

  
“Yes, more than anything,” Sophie said, as she placed her hands on his face.

That was all he needed to hear. He took ahold of himself and started to ease himself into her tightness. He worked himself in, god she was tight, until he finally was completely seated deep inside of her. He couldn’t help the groan that fell from his lips. She wrapped her legs around his hips and he slowly pulled out. Thrusting back in, it wasn't long before he built up a rhythm that had the headboard slamming against the wall, words he couldn’t make out falling from Sophie’s lips and he wasn’t even sure which language he was speaking by the time they both reached their release.

  
When he fell to the bed, he made sure to fall to her side so as not to hurt her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her to his chest. “You ok?” he asked. She nodded. “Good” he said, as he pulled her hair from her face so he could kiss her forehead. When they had gotten their breathing back to normal, he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom for a shower. After washing each other off, they crawled back into bed, Sophie wrapped up in Bucky’s arms, where he felt she belonged.

 

As he watched Sophie sleep, he realized that he is finally home. He may not remember everything, he may seem lost at times, but he has Steve to help and he has his angel. He would move heaven and earth for the woman in his arms. And now that she is finally there, he isn’t going to let her leave them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a break in at Sophie's apartments and it gets Bucky all worked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo of Bucky used with permission of SSWF on Instagram

Bucky had just dropped Sophie off at work and decided to walk through Central Park. Sam told him it would do him some good to get out more by himself, so he figured today was as good as any. It was a nice day out and the park wasn’t to crowded. After walking for awhile he found himself at Sophie’s apartment building. But he wasn’t the only one there. There was several police cars there and police officers standing around. He started to get uncomfortable but he needed to know what was going on. He quickly pulled out his phone.

  
“Hey Jerk, what’s up?” Steve said.

  
“I need you to get down to Sophie’s apartment right now,” Bucky said, sounding very distressed.

  
“Bucky, what’s wrong?”

  
“I don’t know, that’s why I need you here.”

  
“OK, I’m on my way. Don’t do anything until I get there.” Steve hung up and Bucky just stood around with the lookie-loos.

  
Within 10 minutes Steve was there. Bucky didn’t have to say a word. They walked together to one of the officers to find out was happening.

  
“Excuse me officer, what seems to be going on here?” Steve asked in his Captain America voice.

  
As the officer started to turn around he had an attitude. “Now why don’t you just…” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw who he was speaking to. “I'm sorry Captain. I didn’t realize it was you. How can I help you?”

  
“Our friend lives here and we were wondering what happened here,” Steve said.

  
“Several apartments were broken into this morning. Which apartment does your friend live in?” the officer asked.

  
“235B,” Bucky answered.

  
“That is one of the ones hit. Your friend needs to get ahold of us to let us know if anything was taken,” the officer said.

  
“I'll let her know,” Bucky replied.

  
Steve spoke to the officer for a little while longer as Bucky sat with his thoughts. He came to a conclusion and he hoped Sophie agreed.

 

“I don’t give a fuck Bucky! I am not ready to give up my apartment. Why can’t you understand that?” Sophie ran her hands through her hair. He was making her crazy and he wouldn’t explain why this was such a big deal.

“Please Bucky, tell me what is going on.”

  
“Don’t you trust my judgment, Doll?” he asked.

  
“Of course I do, but as soon as we walk into your apartment you dump this on me with no explanation. You have to tell me what is going on,” she tells him.

  
“Sophie, sit down,” Bucky finally said.

  
“Bucky, you’re scaring me.”

  
“Please just do it,” he pleaded, as he began to pace. When she was finally sitting on his couch, he took a deep breath and crouched down in front of her. Taking her hands in his, he told her what happened after dropping her off at work.

  
“You’re not safe there. I can protect you here. This is the safest place in the city. And I know Tony has been trying to get you to move in here. I don’t care if you work for him or if you keep your job. But I do care about your safety, Doll. And I _can’t_ protect you out there.”

  
“Bucky, you can’t be with me 24 hours a day. You walk me to work. You pick me up. And now you want me to live here too? What if I need my own space?”

  
“Baby doll, you haven’t been to your place in almost 2 months. And have you seen my apartment? It’s a 2 bedroom. You have your own space. If you really want, Tony will give you your own place. I just would feel better with you living here. And I think you would too,” Bucky said.

  
Sophie rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. “Fine. I will move in, with you. But, why didn’t you tell me right away about the break-in?”

  
“I should have, but I wanted to get you to say you would move in first. I worry about you Doll. Having you here with me calms me, makes me feel good. You are so important to me that I don’t want anything bad to happen to you and if something does happen, I feel like I need to protect you from it. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

  
He wished he could find the words to describe how he felt but between Zola and Hydra messing with his head the correct words didn’t always come to him.

  
“I understand perfectly Bucky. Will you go with me in the morning to my apartment and then the police?”

  
“You know I will. Come ‘ere Baby and let me show you how much I appreciate you moving in,” he told her with a smirk.

 

After he had made her scream his name several times over, he found the words he was looking for earlier. He had fallen in love with his sweet angel.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has a PTSD dream

“Нет Нет пожалуйста не мне! Я не ничего не сделать мне больно Стив". (No, no please don’t make me do that. I will do anything but please don’t make me hurt Steve.)

Sophie woke up to Bucky tossing and turning and mumbling in Russian. She slipped out of bed and turned on the light. Speaking softly, she started to reassure him that Steve was fine, that Bucky was safe at the Avengers tower, that she was there. She made sure she wasn’t touching him because he was still tossing around and he could get violent.

This wasn’t the first time she had woken up from one of Bucky's nightmares and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. In fact, shortly after she had started staying with him, he had her talk to his therapist, Dr. Barker, about how to handle it best when he had one. So she continued to tell him that all those that he cared about were home and fine, hoping that he would wake up soon.

 

Bucky slowly opened his eyes. As he looked around he realized that he was in his bedroom, in his apartment, at the tower. This wasn’t the bank vault, Pierce wasn’t here, and nobody was telling him to hurt Stevie. Rolling over, he saw Sophie looking at him, her features worried as she tried to smile.

“Hey Doll, its okay. I’m awake now. I’m sorry I made you worry,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. He hated scaring her like this.

He never knew when these episodes were going to happen. He could almost guarantee one would happen if a mission was taking out a Hydra base or if Steve got really hurt but other than that they were unpredictable and that bothered him. It was bad enough when he lived alone but now it affected his Angel and he didn’t want anything to hurt her ever.

“You want some hot chocolate babe,” Sophie asked.

He nodded and leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. “Thanks,” he said as she got up to make them some.

As Sophie went about making the hot drink, Bucky gathered the blankets from the bed and walked out to the living room. He asked FRIDAY to put on ‘Fantasia' at a low volume and got settled on the couch, bundled in the blankets. After a few minutes Sophie walked in with their drinks. He unwrapped himself from the blankets enough to let her sit down next to him. Taking his mug with one hand, he wraps her up with the blankets with the other. And she snuggles up next to him, sipping her chocolate and watching the movie.

 

The sun was shining when Sophie woke up. The last thing she remembered was Bucky running his fingers through her hair as she rested her head on his lap. They were watching ‘Fantasia' on a loop and she had been trying to stay up with him. It looks, though, as if she failed.

“Morning Doll,” Bucky says, kissing her on her forehead.

“Morning. When did I fall asleep?”

“About 4am. You looked so peaceful, all laid out on my lap, I didn’t have the heart to move you.”

“Its fine Babe, last night was all about you. How are you feeling?”

Bucky ran his hand through his hair, then rubbing it on his neck. “Honestly, I'm beat. I feel like I got no sleep at all. And of course I was afraid to go back to sleep. I know that I won’t have another nightmare but I just can’t make myself try and sleep again. Plus serum helps me get by with less sleep so I use that as an excuse.”

“James…”she started.

“Doll, I know, I know. Its not good for me to be up all night and I know you worry about me. But I will be fine today, okay.”

“James, could you please not humor me.” He knew she was serious when she called him by his first name. He looked into her eyes and she continued. “Will you at least call Dr. Barker, for me? Talk to him about last night?”

“Okay Doll, I will. Feel better now?”

“Yes,” she replied. She knew he was just doing it to shut her up, that he felt he wasn’t going to get much better but she really hoped that he could. Sam had been trying to get him to go to one of his groups and Dr. Barker thought it would do him some good. Bucky just felt his experience was something nobody else could relate to. And he was right, they couldn’t. But the PTSD, others could.

 

Sophie had a meeting with Tony about possibly taking over all of the restaurants in the tower so Bucky used that time to call his therapist. He was getting tired of waking Sophie up in the middle of the night with his nightmares. He knew she thought he was blowing off her suggestions but he couldn’t think of just himself anymore. If it was just him, it wouldn’t matter. He recovered quick from sleepless nights. But Sophie, she dragged all day if she didn’t get a good nights sleep. And he just couldn’t do that to her anymore. He was willing to do just about anything to make sure his Angel was taken care of, in every way possible.

He agreed to meet twice a week with Dr. Barker and then he made another phone call.

“Hey Sam, it’s Bucky. When is your next group?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo of Bucky used with permission of SSWF on Instagram


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the entire team is threaten, Sophie sees a different side of Bucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picture of Bucky is used with permission of ss.w.f on Instagram

 

Bucky is training with Steve when Tony walks in.  His face is pale and he actually looks, well afraid.  It is so shocking that Steve is actually able to get a good hit in because Bucky is so distracted.

“Damn it, Bucky.  Pay attention,” Steve yells.

Bucky nudges Steve and looks at Tony.  

“What the fuck?” Bucky says.  “He looks like somebody took all his tools away from him.”

They started over towards Tony along with everybody else.  Fortunately all the Avengers had been training together except for Bruce and he had walked in right after Tony.

“What's going on?” Natasha asks him.

“I just got off the phone with Sing Sing.  Justin Hammer has escaped and in the note he left behind he made sure to mention he was coming after me and everybody I care about.  Not only that, since he knows you all will fight to protect me and mine, he is coming after you and yours too.”

 

Sophie loves her new job.  All the restaurants in the Tower are on the 50th floor and that is where her office is.  Bucky was much more relaxed with her working so close.  Because of living with Bucky she had access to FRIDAY and could have very easily worked from home.  But she enjoyed interacting with all the different employees and vendors and they didn't have access to the upper floors. When she worked at home, they would have to wait for her to come down and she liked to be available to them if there was a problem.  Plus, she really felt like she was just an employee herself.  The only thing different about her was that she was rescued by Bucky one lucky night and fell in love with him.

 

Bucky had been doing much better in the last month since he had increased his therapy appointments and started attending the VA groups with Sam.  He is starting to warm up around others slowly.  It will always be a work in progress but he is making an effort.  

So when he shows up in her office looking like he could murder somebody, Sophie is taken by surprise.  He is in his full tactical uniform, mission ready.  This isn't how he normally does things.  Something is going on.  Her stomach begins to turn into knots and she starts to shake.

“What?  What is going on Bucky?  You are scaring me,” she finally tells him.

“Doll, ya need to come upstairs with me now.  Whatever work you need to do, you can do it there.  Just get your things and let's go,” he says, his voice brooking no argument.  

She shut down her computer, grabbed her purse and stood up ready to go.  Bucky looked out her door first and then motioned for her to follow.  After reaching their secure elevator, they go to their floor.

 

When they got into their living room, Sophie turns to Bucky.  “Ok, I'm here.  Now what the hell is going on?”

Before he answers her, Bucky calls to FRIDAY, “Everything secure?”

“Yes Sergeant Barnes.”

He sits on the couch and pulls her into his lap.  “Doll, it's like this,” he starts and tells her about Justin Hammer and what he has threatened.  When he finishes Sophie looks ready to run out the door.

“Wh..what does all this mean?  I mean, what now?” she asks him.

“Currently Stark has FRIDAY searching for Hammer, any place he might be holed up.  In the meantime, Nat and Clint have gone up to Sing Sing to question the officials there.  As for his threats against everybody, well we all took that pretty serious. Thor took Jane to Asgard, Stark has Pepper locked up in the penthouse, abet unwilling, and Darcy is with her.  And as for you, you're staying right here where I can keep an eye on you,” he tells her.

With that, she bursts into tears.  

 

Ah damn it, Bucky thought.  He hated to see his Angel cry but this time he couldn't help it.  Her safety came first.  He pulls her into his arms.

“Doll, I know you are scared.  And I know this isn't what you signed up for, dating me,” he says.  He pulls back some and frames her face with his hands and looks into her eyes.  “But I swear to you, NOBODY will hurt you, not while I’m here.  I will protect you till my dying breath.”

She nodded but continues to cry.  After a few minutes, Bucky notices the crying has stopped but she feels heavier.  Looking down, he sees she has cried herself to sleep.  He gently picks her up and carries her to their bed.  After placing her in bed, he walks to the balcony and steps outside.  As he looks over the city he thinks of all the things he needs to do to make sure his Angel is safe.  He hopes that the rest of the the team does what they need to do to catch the bastard.  Checking on Sophie, he sees she is still asleep.  He pulls the covers back over her from where they have slipped off and then goes to make doubly sure the apartment is secure.

 

Meanwhile upstairs Thor has returned from Asgard and Tony has FRIDAY running facial recognition throughout all of New York City.  Clint and Natasha have returned from upstate.  It seems Hammer paid off some guards to help him escape.  Natasha questioned them but Hammer didn't tell they where he was headed.  Tony is pacing, more than Tony normally paces.  He really needs Hammer back behind bars, and away from people he can bribe.

 

Over the next couple of days Sophie works from the kitchen table.  She really doesn't like it.  But she knows not to argue with Bucky.  He is now sleeping a few hours a night, the rest he sits in a chair watching over her.  She is seeing a side of him she had barely seen before, that night he found her in the park.  She knew that when he went with the others on missions he let a little of the Winter Soldier out but she had never seen that entire side of him before.  He had always kept that part of him far away from her, that was why he finally went to Sam’s VA groups. But she sees it now.  She knows Sam would have some psycho babble to tell her, but seeing him so protective of her, it made her as hot as hell.

 

Finally FRIDAY located Hammer in a warehouse off of Columbia Heights and they captured him without much of a fight.  This time, though, Fury places him in a much more secure place.  Sophie has never heard of it, someplace called The Sandbox.  But the entire group of Avengers are relaxed.  

 

When Bucky finally comes home from the debriefing, Sophie is more than ready for him. Seeing him so protective of her, not the way he was when he would walk her to and from work, but ready to fight for her safety made her hot and wet.  She needed him and she needed him now.  And he must need her too, because the minute he walks in her is ripping her clothes off.  This isn't like any other time they've had sex.  It's not like when Bucky comes home when a mission either.  This is frantic, can't get close enough to each other, mind-blowing, straight up fucking.

 

He picks her up and as she wraps her legs around him, he starts towards their room.  He has his tongue in her mouth, demonstrating with it what he plans to be doing with his cock to her pussy shortly.  As soon as he gets in the bedroom he tosses her on the bed and crawls over her.  He reaches for her hands and raises them above her head.  As he places his metal hand on her wrists, he begins to nip at her breasts, first one then the other, soothing the slight pain with kitten licks after.  With his flesh hand, he rips her panties off of her and begins to slide his finger over her clit.  He moves to kiss her, pushing his tongue into her mouth at the same time he slides two fingers into her pussy.  She can't help but clench around his fingers, her wetness from her excitement easing his way.  Bucky moves from ravishing her breasts to mouthing at her neck.

“That's it Doll.  I know you're almost there.  Come on.  Come for me.”

His words combined with his fingers in her cunt and his thumb on her clit push her over the edge.  She comes, screaming his name.

Bucky wastes no time, practically ripping his tactical pants off and taking himself in hand, slides into her.  Sophie is still riding the endorphin high from her orgasm and him filling her just adds to it.  Her hips start to move, encouraging him to move with her.  He grabs her leg, lifting it up to his shoulder and begins to pound into her.  Leaning down, he again starts to suck on her breasts, going quickly from one to the other.  Her hands are grabbing his ass, his back, in his hair, wherever she can get some kind of purchase.  She is kissing him everywhere, there moans filling the room.  

“Give me one more, I need you to come for me again Doll.”

“Fuck.  There, right there.  Oh my god, yes”

Sophie grabs his hair and throws her head back as she gives him what he wants, coming so hard she can't speak.  Bucky thrusts once, twice, three times and stills, his face frozen in ecstasy, filling her with his seed.   After a moment, he collapses, rolling over to the side, pulling her on top of him.  He runs his fingers through her hair, kissing her forehead.

He hears a small snore and lifts his head.  His Angel is sound asleep.  And safe and sound where she belongs, in his arms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How things have been since the Hammer incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. It just felt right to finish this story here. Thank you for reading. I appreciate it so much. And as always the picture of Bucky is used by permission of sswf on Instagram. Please check out her videos and edits and manips. Amazing work.

 

Things finally settle down after the Hammer incident, if you can call what Bucky’s life is settling down.  The entire Hammer thing made him realize that he can’t be there all the time so he insists that Sophie start training with Nat.  He wants his Angel to be able to protect herself when he isn’t around.  

He was making good progress with this therapist.  His PTSD episodes had decreased dramatically.  And he went to Sam’s group faithfully.  As a result, he was able to sleep through the night more often and even go out on real dates with Sophie.  Usually they went out with Steve and Darcy, which was mind blowing for him.  He remembered going out with Steve and how the girls wouldn’t give Stevie a second look and here he was, with a woman who is so clearly in love with him.  It was about time.  He just wished he could have been here when they got together, been there for Steve like Steve has been there for him.  

He was really glad that Darcy and Sophie really get along.  They have that “we are dating old men who aren’t old plus supersoldiers” thing in common.  He noticed that when Sophie got overly frustrated with him, she would disappear for a few hours.  At first he thought she was leaving him.  But when he asked FRIDAY where if she was in the Tower, the AI would reply that she was with Darcy.  After it continued to happen, he realized that the two women related to each other so well.  Sophie was going through so much of what Darcy had already dealt with with Steve.  And if she hadn’t, she at least was a good listener.

He is much more comfortable being out with just the two of them.  While he is sure people look at him, the Avengers are on the news quite a bit, he doesn’t feel like they see him as the criminal that he was when he was under HYDRA’s control.  He still gives people a death glare if he wants to be left alone, which is usually when he is trying to just be alone with his girl, but most of the time he just has a blank stare on his face.  They like trying little hole in the wall restaurants and had found a sushi place that he just loves.  It’s a few blocks from the Tower and they go there at least once a month.  He knows Sophie doesn’t really like sushi, she goes to make him happy but they know them there and leave them alone.  

The worst part is when he has to leave for a mission.  If she isn’t working, when he comes back from the briefing, she sits on their bed and watches him get ready.  He watches her eyes as he slides the various knives and guns into their holsters.  He sees a mixture of desire and worry in them.  Once he is ready to leave, he always pulls her close and kisses her hard, his tongue taking possession of her mouth, reminding her that she is his.  He hates leaving her for any amount of time, but they both know this is his job.  She walks him to the QuinJet and leaving her behind is always the hardest thing he has to do.  He knows she worries.  He worries about her when he is away, but this is his life.  

Returning home though is another story.  FRIDAY lets her know that they will be returning and she hurries to the roof.  As soon he he exits the QuinJet she runs to him, always careful of the injuries she knows he has.  She never asks about the mission, he won’t tell her and asking does no good.  He reassures her that he is fine, but he can see the worry in her eyes.  She walks with him to medical.  He personally thinks the trip to medical half the time is ridiculous but everybody gets checked out, supersoldiers included.  Once he is cleared there, they head to their floor.  That is where things go one of two ways.  

If it was a particularly rough mission, the door barely gets shut before Sophie pushed up against it and Bucky is ripping off her clothes.  His zipper is down and he has his fingers in her, his tongue in her mouth, getting her ready for him.  As soon as he can feel her wetness, he thrusts into her.  It’s fast, rough and all about getting off.  Once that happens, he picks her up and carries her to their room where he makes love to her.  

If it was a mission that wasn’t too bad, they get inside and he picks her up, carries her to their room.  This time her clothes get saved by being carefully taken off of her, but he  _ still  _ fucks into her hard. 

Bucky thinks back to where he was before he met Sophie and where he is now.  So much has changed and he is so grateful.  He never thought he could love somebody as much as he loves her.  

Just then, Sophie walks into the restaurant.  She is gorgeous as usual.   She sits down and he can tell she has no clue.  They enjoy dinner, laughing and talking.  Right before dessert he decides it’s time.  

“Sophie, I love you so much.  My life has been made so much better since you came into my life,” he reaches into his pocket and brings out the little blue box from Tiffany’s.  “Please marry me?”

He is so nervous.  He once thought he would never get to do this.  What if she says no? But before he can think any further on it, she starts to cry.

“Yes, yes, oh yes, Bucky,” she answers him.

He slides the ring on her finger and leans in to kiss her.  His heart’s still pounding inside his chest.  

“You wanna get out of here?  Go celebrate at home?” he asks her.

  
She nods quickly and he signals for the check.  As soon as his signs it, they start to walk home.  As they walk he thinks to the night he couldn’t sleep and decided to walk through Central Park and met the angel that would change his life forever.


End file.
